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Delhi EV move may help save Rs 6,000 cr in fuel imports

New Delhi, Sep 16: As part of the Delhi’s draft electric vehicle (EV) policy, the city will need around 500,000 new EVs in the next five years and it will help save Rs 6,000 crore in oil and liquid natural gas imports and 4.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The report, prepared by the Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi and the Rocky Mountain Institute, submitted to Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot here on Monday, identifies the economic and environmental benefits of the national capital’s electric mobility future.

The report, titled ‘Accelerating Delhi’s Mobility Transition: Insights from the Delhi Urban Mobility Lab’, says to meet the draft EV policy target of the 25 per cent share in new registrations of EVs by 2024, Delhi will need to register 500,000 EVs in five years.

“Over their lifetime, these EVs are estimated to help save Rs 6,000 crore in oil and liquid natural gas imports and 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to CO2 emissions from nearly 100,000 petrol vehicles over their lifetime,” the report says.

These vehicles will also help avoid about 159 tonnes of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) tailpipe emissions, a known cause of respiratory diseases and premature deaths.

The report proposes 10 actionable solutions to accelerate Delhi’s mobility transition by summarising discussions and suggestions of a 200-people workshop, held on June 26-27 here, to develop sustainable mobility solutions for the city.

On the report, Gahlot said, “As Delhi looks to take steps towards inducting large number of electric buses and taking leadership in fighting air pollution, this report will become an important reference point for all our agencies on various reforms needed to ensure a successful transition to EVs.”

The report proposes steps on policy, institutional, technical and financial interventions that can help support rapid adoption of EVs and other urban mobility solutions in Delhi.

“One proposed solution is the creation of a single-window clearance system for clearer and simpler processes for both registering and permitting EVs as well as commissioning charging and battery swapping infrastructure. Another is a more attractive financing for EVs through a government-led interest rate subvention scheme. Others include data solutions, awareness campaigns and capacity-building programmes,” the government said in a statement.

The draft EV policy, released in November 2018, is awaiting notification.